Page 30 of Chaos Destiny
I studied his face and quickly picked up on the hidden words behind his expression. “Oh. Okay, then. Understood. So, what about Thandie? Where’s her name from?”
“An actress Ari likes.ThandiyeNewton. We used to watchMission Impossible 2over and over when we were younger. I let my hair grow out for a bit because of it, and the more my mother wanted me to cut it, the longer I let it grow. Then, one day, she started playing with the strands and saying how the look grew on her. I got it cut the same weekend.”
I smiled. “Reverse psychology.”
“She was good at that, my mum.”
“Is she in Australia?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I lost my family long before all of this.”
Seeing as how all I appeared to be doing was stirring up pain for this man, I decided to switch gears one more time.
“So, you and Ari have known each other since you were kids?”
“Yep. Our fathers were colleagues. She has a twin sister named Moana—Mo, for short. Ari’s short for Arihi. They’re like my s...well, Mo’s like a sister to me. You may have noticed her hair.” He motioned to his head. “Mo and Ari are Melanesian.”
“That’s South Pacific, right?” I asked. “Beautiful people, if Ari’s any indication.”
“Yeah.” He scanned my face. “Beautiful.”
I searched for something else,anythingelse, to look at and picked the sleepy baby in his hold. As quiet as she’d been the entire time, her eyes had yet to close. Dots of sweat collected on her skin, and I hoped that once the fever broke, it stayed as far from her as possible.
Gage still hadn’t looked away.
“By the time you’re done, you’ll be able to paint my face,” I teased, meeting his eyes. “What could you possibly be thinking about while looking at me that…intently?”
“I’m trying to figure out where you came from,” he said.
“Well, I was born in Baltimore, but?—”
“That’s not what I meant, love.”
There it was again.
That word.
That simple sentence-ending stick of dynamite.
Thandie sneezed, but the interruption wasn’t enough to break his spell. Even as he patted her back and kissed the top of her head, he never shifted focus. And, like a fool, neither did I.
“How close are you and the Allen guy?” he asked. “Does he know you’re not in love with him?”
“I like him,” I said, not at all confident that I didn’t sound like I was trying to convince us both.
Gage snorted. “No, you don’t.”
“Was infidelity the cause of your separation from your wife?” I countered. “Remember them, Gage? Your wife and baby?”
He dragged his bottom lip between his teeth and leaned slightly forward. “So, about that?—”
Carolyn burst through the doors, arms flailing. “She’s awake! The woman? Ari? She’s up! And she’s asking for Gage and Thandie.”
After delivering the news as if it were a family member and not a woman she hadn’t yet formally met, Carolyn ran back inside.
“Remember Ari and Thandie, Gage.” I stood, gathering up my bowl and spoon. “The world isn’t what it used to be. I’m not as strong as I used to be.”
If he pushed, I didn’t trust myself not to bend. If he continued to push, I didn’t trust myself not to break. I was attracted to him; that much couldn’t be helped or denied. Hopefully, in trying to burn the attraction, I didn’t end up accidentally lighting a match.
